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I didn't give clean chit to Gadkari: Gurumurthy

New Delhi, Nov 13, 2012, DHNS: 2:13 IST

'I don’t care whether he remains BJP president'

RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy on Tuesday denied giving a clean to BJP president Nitin Gadkari, facing charges of dubious business dealings, and said he “cared a little” whether Gadkari retains the key post in the party.

“I have not given a clean chit to Gadkari. I cannot give a clean chit to any one whom I don’t know fully. I don’t know Gadkari at all. Never thought of Gadkari till I thought of calling my chartered accountant friend in Nagpur who was Gadkari’s CA. I care very little whether Gadkari remains president or not. If I had been asked my opinion by any one else, I would have done the same thing,” Gurumurthy tweeted on Tuesday.

He, however, stood by his findings which suggested that there was nothing illegal about business transactions of the Purti Group, a sugar cooperative run by Gadkari.

Gurumuthy’s attempt to clarify his views have further clouded the BJP president’s future.The tweet further fuels speculations on a scramble for power in the BJP and indicates that support for Gadkari is on a wane.

RSS veteran M G Vaidya, who seldom discusses sensitive issues in public, had on Sunday blogged in Marathi that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was suspected to have initiated the campaign against Gadkari. This was instantly denied by Gadkari himself and the RSS.

Gurumurthy took the moral high ground in his tweet.“I personally feel that no party president should be in business as that always invites problems and creates perception. The perception about Gadkari is a political problem which he and his party have to handle. I handled only the facts,” he said.

Gurumurthy had previously said: “The media is in the grip of competitive sensationalising. This is not investigative journalism. Shouting, screaming and abusing is not debate.”Clamour against Gadkari has grown over the days, with senior BJP leader Jagdish Shettigar joining Ram Jethmalani and his son Mahesh in demanding Gadkari’s resignation as the party president. “Gadkari is also a swayamsewak whose dharma is to protect the interest of the country first and then protect the interest of the organisation. I am sure that he will take the best step in the overall interest of the country and the organisation,” Shettigar had said on Friday.